The Redemption Theory
by WagnerFlin
Summary: No good deed goes unpunished, Noct learnt it the hard way. He had only wanted to help a friend. But the universe had deemed it important and taken the task on itself to make his life a little more 'interesting'.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Forgive me for any mistakes and errors found, it was a rushed job I must admit, so I've yet to proof-read it. I would also like to thank _DarkNoct93,_ who is actually well-versed in the 'Tekken Lore',for his help. This story contains violence, sexual situations, strong language and the occasional morbid humour. Some artistic liberties have been taken.

The cover art does NOT belong to me, I was only lucky enough to find it. It's by Jacky Lau.

* * *

A long groan broke the silence as large plumes of dust particles settled down; a lone silhouette was barely visible in the backdrop. A shaky hand rose and reached out, trying to grip something in an effort to get up. Clutching on to a piece of rubble nearby, pale fingers left a trail of blood.

Finally, with great effort the figure crawled out of the pile of rubble, barely being able to carry the weight of his body around. After what seemed like an eternity climbing up the slope of debris—chunks of concrete and what looked to be the wreckage of motor vehicles, the man slumped down onto the mouth of the crater, trying to relax his sore limbs which were screaming at him. Signs of toil glistened on his body under the evening sun.

Gingerly, he picked at what remained of his finger-less glove; the burnt leather falling apart at the briefest of tugs. He's clothes fared no better—tattered and charred for the most part. The jacket sleeve on his left was torn at the seams. The vestiges of his sleeve, hanging barely by a thread, exposed his toned upper biceps.

Upon inspection, he had found the source of his agony. His hands were speckled with numerous cut, a long gapping cut on the cushion of the palm on his left, stung with a vengeance like someone had poured lemon juice or sprinkled salt on it. Gravel and dust particles had gotten into his wounds causing it to sting, he'd better clean it lest he risks an infection.

The light evening breeze only made it worse as his many scrapes started throbbing and tingling in the open air. A sharp hiss passed his parted lips when he adjusted to look around—his clothe rubbed a bruise or two somewhere, he failed to hide his grimace. He could taste the familiar bitter copper in his mouth, spitting out, the vermilion painted the gravel near him.

Heaving a sigh, he ran his right hand through his hair. It was a wasted effort as the dark locks fell back plastering on his sleek forehead.

He had overestimated himself. Though he wasn't to be faulted—he'd only pulled it off the first time thanks to an external force. The teleportation this time, naturally, drained him; consuming the last dregs of magic to materialize and stabilise an ill-prepared portal. The portal opened in mid-air and he was flung out of it. It was only when he felt the endless cold biting rushes of air against his skin, the furious whipping of his ebony locks and the relentless whooshing of wind against his eardrums did he realise he was plummeting to his increasingly plausible death.

Manoeuvring around, he was finally able to see himself plunging through the stratosphere and towards the hard solid ground.

If it were any other occasion, he'd have taken the time to acknowledge and appreciate the surreality of the situation—falling through the clouds, the weightlessness and the frailty of life itself. As much fun as it was to evaluate the meaning of his life, his untimely death would've been a real inconvenience (a pain in the ass so to say), especially when he'd left a kingdom and it's people kingless. Today was not the day he would die; too many things had been left undone to just let it all go. They were waiting for him.

It was the crystalline wall he had summoned at the last minute, exhausting what remainder of his magic, that had saved him from the fall. The impact was brutal; the outer layers of the crystalline shell shattering first as cracks eagerly dug their way deeper into the centre.

Despite initially being encased in his crystal, the majority of it shattered away like glass fragments leaving him exposed. His half-assed shield only served to break the fall.

Crystal fragments and rubble encrusted his arms and legs. Due to the hard and compact nature of his crystal, it made for the worst shock absorber. He had felt it to his core—the shock waves rattled his bones. The whole impact left a sizeable depression on the ground.

Stretching his arms, he gritted his teeth. His joints still ached. He didn't have any potions with him. In his haste to help his friend, Lars, he hadn't taken into account to stock up on his supplies...or the lack of it for that matter. It was a mistake he was willing to admit but if only his friends weren't badgering him.

After he'd received the call, his friends were onto him like fish to bait. At one glance, they had known the identity of the mysterious caller just as he stepped out—the small smirk and the excitement glinting in his eyes did help too. Instantly, before he could even acknowledge them (his attention was solely on his phone), they had cornered him. Albeit hesitantly, he knew there was no escaping, he budged at their ceaseless prodding and gave in.

'You guys remember Lars?' Scratching the back of his head irritably he continued, 'Yeah, well he called in for a favour'.

After a brief explanation of Lars' unexpected request, there was a mild pause as each of his friends had an indiscernible look plastered on their face. His brows furrowed, he didn't like the look they were giving him.

Before a word could be said, each one of them stepped forward to volunteer, deeming themselves to be fit for the task. He had gaped at them but recovered fast enough to deny them. This was a great opportunity for him to take a break and he'd be a fool to pass that chance.

So he took off, no plan in mind; and that was how he found himself in this situation. In hindsight, he shouldn't have been _that_ reckless.

Sighing again, he stood up on shaky legs, patting away the dust. He decided he would take account of his wounds at a later period, at least after he'd gotten an idea of where he had ended up in.

Squinting ahead, far of in distance he could see a cityscape bordering the horizon. He could probably get some information there and hopefully some first aid.

Cracking his neck, Noctis walked forward.

* * *

The entire room bathed in the eerie red glow. The hum of the computers was accompanied by the frequent clatter of booted feet as each soldier hurried to fulfil his task to avoid the wrath of their boss. The employees came in with arms stacked with a pile of reports before hurrying back out. They worked in haste, discussing among themselves about their findings; though their murmur was drowned out by the blaring of alarms. They had gone off exactly ten minutes ago and had been blaring away ever since.

The cause of this commotion—a sudden fluctuation of spiritual force in the atmosphere, specifically in the region bordering the outskirts of the northern city.

A huge screen hung above showed a graph with an exponential growth before a sharp drop, like the entire spiritual force dissipated in thin air. The men gathered around a long table with a holographic display stretching the length of it. It displayed the topography of the entire outskirt. What stood out was the glowing red dot, indicating the location where the anomalous force had appeared and nothing else.

For all talks about the state of the art technology catered by Mishima Zaibatsu, none of the machines could find the source of this large spiritual force; each citing it 'Unknown'. The soldiers fuzzed over their meagre results as they doubled their efforts, hoping to get some scrap of information. The could almost feel the frosty glare aimed in their direction.

A lone red eye glowed ominously behind them. Seated above in a big chair the figure painted a picture of a looming mountain, commanding attention; but ironically no one was willing to face him.

Kazuya gripped the leather armrest, his nails digging into the plush material. He was anxious, an emotion he was not familiar with. His men were surprised to find out that the anomaly had brought even him unrest, but they were wise enough not to comment on it. He, on the other hand, was completely frustrated at his men' incompetence. Not a single one of them could give him the answers he needed.

What had put him on the edge was the fact that they could not pinpoint what had caused this. The spiritual force detected was of a high magnitude and for it to disappear just as suddenly raised too many questions.

His tumultuous brooding lingered on his elusive target—Jin Kazama. Having had Heihachi defeated, finally, he was the last obstacle standing in his way. Someone who did not know when to give up but a hard-bitten opponent nonetheless. _Had he by some chance come across some greater power?_

Heihachi was, without a doubt, a formidable foe; not one to be taken lightly, it took him decades and having to sell his soul to the devil to defeat him. _Liberation_. That was what he had felt. A sense of deliverance overwhelmed him as he watched the last breath leave Heihachi's mouth. It had been reinvigorating.

But Jin was a different matter altogether. One that he would deal with when the time came.

Gripping the armrest tighter he could almost feel the leather caving in. "Sir?" He was pulled from his reverie and he turned to the voice. Glowering at the soldier, he nodded his head lightly, gesturing for him to continue. The man hesitated a bit before continuing.

"Sir, we have found small traces of the spiritual force, similar to the one before. It seemed to be moving from the focal point''.

Taking in what he had just heard, he closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again; the red eye glowing much more fiercely.

"Prepare the Jacks''.

* * *

His boots chafed as he trudged his way towards an abandoned bus stop; it looked to be on the verge of falling apart. Half the roof of the shelter had caved in as a result of a large boulder resting precariously on top of it. How it'd ended up there was beyond his notion.

'Faauck,' he breathed out, his joints popping as he slumped down on the only functional bench. The bench creaked under his weight but he couldn't care less.

The town was much further than his eyes had let own and it had taken him longer to reach it—he was still drained off of his magic. No magic, no warping. That was the long and short of it. Noctis found it bizarre that his body was taking its time to replenish it, like a small trickle filling a well. He'd shrugged and brushed it aside, not thinking much about it, blaming it on his exhaustion. It wasn't like he had his potions with him.

Though, there was one other problem. Patting his pocket, he was immensely relieved when he'd located his phone only to find out a crack running diagonally along the screen. Somehow his phone had managed to stay intact throughout the whole ordeal, which he was greatly thankful for, but after pressing the power button furiously he'd lamentably came to the conclusion that there was no charge. Contacting Lars, his only contact out here for that matter, was now out of the question.

Truly lost and having no idea where in Ifrit's arsehole he'd ended up in, Noct settled on walking towards the nearest settlement—which happened to be an hour's journey on, one limping, foot if the position of the sun had been anything to go by.

Honestly, his luck was just that amazing; he only wished it didn't stay that way for long.

Licking his lips, he tasted the sweat and dirt collected above his cupid's bow. Noctis surveyed the area around him. It almost looked like a hurricane had torn up the city. Chaos littered the streets. Cars and buildings burned away. Thick black plumes of smoke reached the sky. The stench of burnt rubber and something else entirely indiscernible permeated his nostril.

A nearby pipeline that had burst gushed water, flooding the nearby vicinity; the puddle reaching far enough to lick the soles of his shoe. Most of the buildings were barricaded—metal shutters pulled down and windows boarded with plywood; there was no way in unless he broke his way in. Holes ranging from small to big perforated every other surface, the buildings, tarmac and pavements with visible marks of gunpowder residue decorating it. Somewhere ahead he'd heard the incessant buzzing of electricity, the wires of a power line had touched and sparks were flying. He took a mental note to avoid that path; the last thing he needed to add to his list of slowly growing misfortunes was getting electrocuted. Not today, not _ever_ for that matter.

He could see in the distance some of the buildings had been fully destroyed while others partially so, with their reinforcing steel exposed. Debris still rained down—the destruction seemed evidently recent. But what really stood out in the mass destruction of the entire town was how some of the infrastructures where cleaved cleanly through, like a hot knife through butter. 'What could have possibly done that?' He briefly wondered if he even wanted to know the instigator of this carnage.

He was not naive enough to believe there were no casualties, though he had yet to come across any bodies. It was beyond strange. Did the civilians escape before the destruction even took place? If it was a mass evacuation, it would mean they had prior knowledge of this disaster.

'They probably abandoned the town'.

It did make sense—a 'civil' war of some scale had taken place here and it made sense that there'd be no one left behind.

"So much for asking for help," Noct muttered under his breath. He wasn't in any dire need of medical attention. Much of his deeper wounds were starting to heal and the tiny lacerations scattered throughout his body had all but disappeared, leaving behind faint pale scars. It wasn't as fast as using potions but his naturally fast healing, thanks to his Lucian blood, had kicked in and only the sprain on his right foot hurt.

Sighing, he got up deciding to scout the area. He did need to make contact with Lars one way or another and dawdling was only delaying it. There ought to be something he could use—maybe a serviceable payphone, or some kind of street sign or guideposts informing him about his whereabouts.

He'd almost concluded he had wandered into a ghost town…if it weren't for a low murmur of voices. Rounding the corner hastily, heedless of his injured ankle, he came across a group of…survivors? There were at least eight of them, all adorning mismatched garbs and more prominently, they were all covered in grime and filth. Like they'd just crawled out from a ditch. Soot caked most of their faces, making them indistinguishable from each other.

The group too distracted 'salvaging' hadn't even noticed him approaching. They were facing a storefront, with its glass window broken into. They seemed to be in haste—grabbing whatever they could and dumping them into a worn jute sack held out to them.

Upon seeing his reflection on the glass panel, one of them dropped the sack, its contents spilling, as he backed up into his companion none too gently. His buddy turned to him, thick brows furrowed, ready to give him a piece of his mind when his eye landed on the King. Mimicking his buddy, the man took a few clumsy steps back, pointing at him with a grimy finger; his jaws slack as though he'd seen a ghost. This had seemed to get the groups attention.

Noctis hesitantly raised a single hand, meaning to greet them, only for the group to drop whatever they were doing and scatter. Dashing across the street, each of them jumped straight into an uncovered manhole that he hadn't noticed before. The slowest of the group tumbled over his legs and fell awkwardly on his butt. As Noctis crouched to give him a hand, the man quickly shuffled backwards only for him to freeze entirely and his eyes to widen—pupils dilating in fear. He wasn't even focused on him anymore, instead, he gaped at something behind him, head tilted back. The King quirked his brow at this.

"Hey man, you-"

The low whirring reached him first before a huge shadow draped over him, obscuring the sun. The familiar silhouette of wings, spanning across the street, gave way the identity of the source of the sound. Craning his neck over his shoulder, Noctis watched as a huge aircraft flew above him. As it came closer, he could finally gage the size of the aircraft. Much larger than a commercial plane, the airplane looked more like a cargo plane. There were symbols imprinted on the sides of the craft but looked more like a white dot at that distance. Before he could assess further, the rear door of the cargo plane opened revealing its contents.

"What…is that?" Noct mumbled under his breath, squinting his eyes curiously to get a better look. There were many of them, or at least it looked like many, stacked one after the other. All of them similar looking and of the same built. It looked to be an army of clones? The 'army of clones' instantly got into formation and without much hesitation base-jumped from the aircraft; without the aide of a chute. It almost reminded Noct of the Imperial dropships that deployed the perpetual army of Magitek troopers in midair.

"Ja..Ja..JAAACKSS!" The clumsy man, that had initially been long forgotten, shrieked. Pointing a shaky finger at the small army, the man hastily got up on his fours and all but scrambled and dived into the manhole; even going as far as to replace the manhole cover. "Jacks?" Noctis spoke up, turning his head back to the aircraft, completely bewildered by what he had just seen.

Noctis watched as the first of the supposed 'Jacks' landed a few feet away from him. Their landing formed a depression, the road caving in under the pressure. He unconsciously took a step back as the waves of reverberation met his feet. He'd almost felt the weight as the clones landed one after the other, like fusillading missiles, bombarding the ground. A quick glance told him the small unit that had gathered before him had a strength of eleven.

The strange man's sudden outcry had gotten him slightly perturbed and apprehensive. What had warranted such a strong reaction? Looking at the Jacks more closely, Noctis had a slight inkling as to why. Up close he could clearly see they loomed above him—their gargantuan size dwarfing him. Their bulking figures standing much, _much_ bigger than Gladio, ripped with unnaturally bulging muscles. Clad in regular military fatigues with a lightweight armoured vest, they stared at him, without having the need to blink even once.

What stood out was their sectionalised skin with glowing radioactive green veins branching throughout their body. _Where they even human?_ Apart from the humanoid head topped off with a Mohawk coiffure, they almost seemed like robots.

"Baadd," its bionic voice interrupted his musing, mildly surprising him.

"Wha-"

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, one of the clones rushed at him, throwing a punch, aiming for his head. Acting on instincts, Noct dodged the blow, its hand grazing his right cheek. He could feel a cut on his cheek as a small trickle of blood rolled down. The Jack had gotten him by surprise; despite its massive ill-proportioned body, it was much swifter than he'd anticipated.

The next punch came quickly and he narrowly escaped by backflipping away from it. The jab grazed his left leg just barely, only making contact with his pellucid afterimage as he phased away to safety. The Jacks seemed to possess a long arm span and he made a mental note to remember it unless he wished to lose a limb. Each blow packed a punch—he could feel the whiplash of each jab.

Back on his feet again, Noct took a deep breath to evaluate its next move. It seemed almost mindless as it rushed in for another attack. This time a lower jab aiming for his ribs. But Noct easily navigated out of its reach, dodging to the right before summoning his great-sword and swinging it, trying to hack off its head from behind. The sword instead made contact with its upper torso but the swing was not powerful enough to cut it clean—having lost a bit of momentum while dodging.

Not having enough time to dislodge his weapon as yet another one of the Jacks charged at him, Noct warped away. He didn't stick the landing, having barely enough time to even aim properly to warp, and he slammed into a nearby parked car. The car's motion alarm blared as it went off on impact.

Quickly getting back on his feet Noct recalled his great-sword. The mecha that he had managed to strike earlier had its inner machinery exposed. It struggled to move as sparks flew from its body. Moving much slower and awkwardly than the rest, it shuffled its way almost blindly and zombi-like towards him. It growled at him as it went for a jab again. Noct knew better than to fight close range, having taken note of its preferred fighting style. So he summoned a polearm and with much strength, crouching a bit and lowering his centre of gravity, he thrust it into its chest, pushing harder as it struggled to pierce through. All while the Jack groaned. The sharp end finally came through, the tip of the blade sticking out at the back, and the behemoth robot was lifted off the ground; its weight aiding to push the blade deeper. As his polearm disappeared, the Jack crashed into the ground into a heap of scraped junk.

Noct could barely catch his breath as another fist aimed from his head, but it fell short and ended up almost touching his nose. Phasing behind it, he summoned his weapon of choice, the trusty _e_ _ngine blade_ , and cleanly cleaved through the machine across it torso successfully this time. The King sidestepped the next one with ease as he'd seen it from his peripheral view. Casting a quick freeze spell, he froze its legs before he stepped forward launching a shovel hook. As the robot lurched back breaking from ice imprisoning his legs, Noct springboarded onto its shoulders and tried crushing its head between his thighs before jumping away. The Jack dropped on to its knees and fell forward—with its head crushed like a tin can and sparks flying.

Looking around he found there were eight more left. He was panting slightly as his fatigue caught up with him. He was well aware that he was exhausting the already little supply of magic he had.

Taking a deep breath, Noct dashed forward and ducked when he was near one of the robots just as it raised both of its arms to deliver a double ended punch. Quickly summoning his Kukris he slashed at it before shifting his weight and dodging away. A cross-shaped tear ran along its body before the hunk of metal went crashing onto the floor mirroring the others.

"Seven more to go." Noctis tried to even out his harsh breathing. Three of them dashed towards him trying to gang up on him. They clearly had the upper hand, with their long arm reach it was hard for him to press an attack.

"Tch," he grimaced.

Dancing away from the first one, he blocked a fierce jab from the second by crossing his arms in front of his face. The impact was merciless and he swore under his breath. His arm shook as he felt tendrils of pain crawling up his arm. _Hopefully, he didn't break anything._

He readied himself to take the next round of punches. The follow-up punches were no less weak as each assault pushed him back; his shoes slid back losing his footing. Before he could counter, another jab cut through aimed towards his head. Noct lowered his centre of gravity and hunkered down, narrowly escaping it, his ebony locks brushing its fist. Not thinking straight, Noct retaliated by delivering a cross straight to its guts; which only resulted in the Jack to stagger back slightly. The punch hurt like hell as he felt skin kiss the hard metal of the armoured exoskeleton. Noct hugged his hand to alleviate the pain but it didn't do much. It was clear, due to its lack of reaction, that there wasn't anything human in them. They were much like the MTs back home—but a lot more powerful and dangerous.

Jumping away from the third attack, Noct retreated back a bit. Biting his lips, Noct looked around thinking of a plan before looking forward again. His eyes caught a streak of rainbow refracted on a puddle beside an ominous looking black sludge. Thinking fast, he baited the Jacks forward by backing up towards the puddle; and they gratuitously followed him. He allowed one of them to close in on him. Just as it was able to dish out a successful right hook, that was sure to knock him out, Noct hastily casted a fire spell and jumped back. He morbidly watched as the flames licked the puddle and caught fire and quickly coursed its way towards the Jacks. The one stepping in the black sludge went up in flames first, promptly followed by the next two. Taking advantage of the distraction Noct ran and warp striked the fourth one, his sword ploughing through till the hilt. Summoning his long sword he swung at its legs.

"Fourth one down. Three more to go"

His heart hurt and his muscles were screaming in pain. His reserves were emptying fast; he'd almost used up his magic. There was no way he could go own recklessly casting spells anymore. Had Ignis been there, he'd be shaking his head for his foolhardiness. Taking deep gulps of air, he tried to calm his heart. His joints felt like it were on fire but there wasn't any time to rest as the remaining Jacks came running towards him. Noct parried some of the punches but it didn't do him any good; yet again he was being pushed back. Dropping low, Noct swept its legs from underneath. The Jack went crashing down.

Quickly, Noct jumped onto his feet. He could already see the shadow of the next one closing in on him from behind on the road. Twisting his body around, his eyes bled red as he tried warping away. But instead of phasing like usual, his body only flickered and remained in place just as the jab connected with his ribs. The impact flung him against a building—breaking through the concrete wall and crashing into a pillar. _Why wasn't he able to warp away?_ For a second he'd almost felt the normal pulsing sensation of magic coursing through each of his cells—his body preparing to dematerialise to warp, but instead, he blinked back into the same position. Clutching his rib and the using the wall as support, he tried getting up but his feet gave away.

His eyes widened as he saw the Jack climbing through the hole in the wall and approach him. Crawling back he tried to distance himself. His hands flitted across the floor feeling around before his fingers met cold steel. Grabbing it firmly in his hands, he quickly thrust the metal rebar into its gut. It only managed to slow the killing machine for a moment but it was enough for Noct to body slam the Jack. Both of them tumbled and crashed onto the floor, with Noctis lying above it. Grabbing its face, Noct repeatedly slammed its head onto the floor—pieces of metal behind its head falling apart. Before the robot could grab at him he slipped away from its reach.

Staggering back, he grabbed the edge of a shelf and toppled it over the Jack. The dead weight of the shelves seeming to successfully pin and crush it. By the time he looked up, the second one was coming through the hole and bounding towards him. Sidestepping, Noct goes for a punch aiming for its neck. The attack seemed to falter its movement for a bit but doesn't offer much damage. Quickly, he followed up with a roundhouse kick to its legs and the Jack falls to its knees. Going behind, Noct twists its head savagely, successfully ripping its head off its torso. Sparks were sent flying and it finally crashed to the ground.

Noctis roughly hacks, sending bloody spittle flying. His hand accidentally brushed his rib and the pain almost sent him reeling back. Stumbling out of the hole, Noct was almost sucker punched in the face if it weren't for a well-timed block. There was a resounding crack and he could immediately tell his wrist was broken or at the very least sprained. The impact though sent him rolling on the ground and onto his back. His head slammed into the curb harshly and Noct was slightly dazed by it. Blinking his eyes to focus, the last Jack grabbed his collar and he was lifted off of the ground. Instinctively, Noct grabbed on to its forearms but it didn't budge. Lifting both his legs up, he kicked the mecha on its chest. It ended up sending both of them flying on to the ground. Noctis slid on the ground, the rough surface chaffing his exposed skin—he hissed as he felt rug burns on his arms.

With a kip-up, Noct landed on his feet before rushing in. The Jack was mid way in getting up almost at level with Noct's height. Bounding forward, he delivers a vicious uppercut, putting his entire strength behind it. The metal head breaks off from the body and it goes rolling across the road. After a beat, the Jack kowtows to the ground.

Noct fell on to his knees and keeled over. His arms were supporting his weight but they shook with fatigue. The front of his shirt was slightly torn, exposing his upper torso. Beads of sweat rolled down his arms and face. He was completely drenched in sweat and a gentle draft made him shiver—goosebumps breaking out throughout his body.

"Damn," he breathed out, "that took a lot more energy than I thought".

"That was really impressive I must say".

The words pulled him from his momentary daze. Noctis jerked his head up, eyes widening in surprise. He hadn't felt the presence, in his moment of weakness he had let his guard down.

 _"Pretty boy"._

* * *

"Wha-" he croaked out.

The lady was sitting above a scaffolding, legs crossed and staring down at him. Her pink hair rustled in the light breeze. She donned a white tank top, which exposed her underboobs, with a pair of blue denim cut-off shorts; there were chains and a pair of handcuffs wound through the belt loops of the shorts. Her look was topped off with a fitted black cap and red heels. She slowly walked towards the edge, her heels clicking on the metal grate, one foot in front of the other. She carried herself lasciviously.

"Who're you?" His voice was hoarse—his throat was parched and he barely got the words past his mouth. He almost thought his words were lost to the wind but the smirk stretching on her luscious lips said otherwise. Taking yet another step, the woman leapt from the scaffolding, arms stretched out. It was only then he'd noticed the peculiar object on her hand. 'Was that a whip?'

The lady landed on her heels gracefully. An act that, even he had to admit, was commendable. It was as though she'd done this many times before. Straightening herself, the pinkette strutted forward till she was right in front of him. Bending slightly forward, he could clearly see down her cleavage.

Being respectful, Noct looked away. He was still a man after all and the last thing he wanted was a distraction. Not to mention, it was very much rude to stare. But it seemed the sentiments was only one sided. Reaching out, a calloused hand gripped his chin none too gently and tipped his head up. Cerulean eyes stared down at him, brows slightly furrowed—as if she were trying to comprehend something. She was less than an inch from his face; painted lips almost brushing pale parted ones. Her breath mingled with his ragged ones.

"You really are pretty," she concluded.

A small blush painted on his sweaty cheeks at this. With how close she was standing, Noct couldn't control his embarrassment. He could feel the familiar warmth on the back of his neck as blood rushed to his face. "Oh," she exclaimed, "you're a shy one I see". There was a hint of amusement as her eyes twinkled with mischief and forbidden knowledge. The corners of her lips were turned upwards, almost devilishly. She seemed to derive great pleasure from his discomfort as she stepped closer, her painted lips brushing his once before moving to his right ear.

"Well, I love my guys shy,'' she whispered heatedly, pronouncing each word slowly before suckling on his earlobe and gently biting the soft cartilage.

Instinctively, he pushed himself away from her causing him to land on his butt. Noctis quickly covered his ear as though trying to hide it and gave her an incredulous stare. The, yet to be known, lady laughed at this; clutching her stomach she tried to contain it. Wiping stray tears from her eyes, she looked back at him.

"As much as it saddens me to hurt such a pretty face," she spoke ruefully, "I do have a task to complete. So let's have some fun, shall we?"

There was a resonating snap when she whipped the air. She winked at him before engaging him first. She threw a right hook at him and it nearly soaked him. His exhaustion was catching up to him—moving his limbs almost felt like lifting lead weights. He had caught the next punch in his hand successfully but a brutal slap on his face had him disorientated and tumbling on to the ground.

"Don't tell me that's all you got," the pinkette taunted him. A heeled foot kicked him lightly on his injured rib and it had him reeling in pain. Noct tightly gripped the offending foot and threw her off balance. Trying to regain her balance, she staggered back. But it was enough for Noct to pick himself up. He ran to her and jabbed her in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and she'd immediately retaliated by whipping him with her unorthodox choice of weapon.

'Where were these people popping from,' he pondered. 'Why were they insistent on fighting him?'

All he'd wanted was some information and maybe some medical aid. He never knew accepting a request from a dear friend could end up so badly. His journey had already started out so badly and it seemed his situation was steadily deteriorating. If someone had told him the day before to not impulsively accept any requests and that in doing so he was biting more than he could chew, he'd have scoffed at that notion. He was not one to turn his back on someone who was seeking help, much less from a friend.

'And he had asked so nicely,' Noctis mused.

That had warranted an immediate 'ok' from him; never being one to bend on orders or demands from people. Call him stubborn, call him impetuous. An ignorant young man, on a journey to try and prove himself to the world. But maybe, just maybe, it all came down to simple etiquette and that, only he was taught well to extend help to someone in need. That just could be it.

"SMACK!"

His distraction earned him another slap to the face. Noctis narrowed his eyes, irritation creeping in, as a red impression of a hand became visible on his face. Now there was someone who needed an intensive lesson on common decorum. Who in their right mind would just go on whipping and slapping random strangers? They hadn't even exchanged names for Etro's sake!

The pair exchanged blows after blows, not even flattering for a second. A moment of hesitation would mean certain defeat. And none of them were backing down. Each attack was being either countered or blocked. Her heels crushed broken shards of glass behind her; she was being pressed on to defensive and none of her punches were landing. Getting annoyed, she impatiently aimed for his head; teeth grinding as her mouth assumed a snarl.

He blocked her attack with his arm before grabbing her forearm and throwing her over his shoulder and onto the ground. She gasped as the wind got knocked out of her. Hazily she looked up trying to locate him. But everything spun in front of her from a probable concussion. Seeing her finally defenceless on the ground, Noct quickly restrained her. He placed his entire weight on her stomach and grabbed her arms and pinned it above her head.

Finding it difficult to breathe, she huffed as she tried to thrust her hips up but it was for nought as they were locked into place by his body. She was almost as tall as him and his only advantage was his weight; aside from his physical strength which currently was of no help thanks to his tired body. A bead of sweat rolled its path down from his prominent cheekbone and landed on to her slowly reddening face.

Coral eyebrows pinched together, petulant mouth jutted out taking in ragged breaths. Her eyes were entirely focused on him, taking his battered form in and carefully regarding him, almost tentatively.

Carefully readjusting his position, he sat a bit lower, offering her some relief from his weight. Almost immediately she gulped in much needed air.

Neon pink locks had spilt on to the cracked black asphalt; her hat being long gone sometime during their brawl. The colour contrasted glaringly.

Noct silently mused who on earth would die their hair neon pink. 'Was it even real?' He briefly wondered as hot puffs of air continued to brush his cheeks.

A loud moan pulled him back from his reverie. Re-focusing on her face, Noct watched curiously as a small smirk crept on her face before it stretched revealing rows of glistening white teeth. Thrusting her hips again she arched her back sensually and let out a long and lewd moan.

The reaction was immediate, as his face was set aflame. His entire face took a rosy shade as his eyes bulged from its socket.

Still laying below him, she laughed at his reaction. It was so predictable, she found it hilarious when it did happen. When her laughter died down, she gave him a licentious look.

"I occasionally don't mind this position. It ain't the most fun. Neither is it my favourite. But I don't mind makin' exceptions for _you,"_ she teased, throwing a wink at the end.

That did it for him. Feeling both alarmed and somehow violated, he jerked back, subconsciously loosening his grip. But she noticed it and took advantage of his momentary distraction. Quickly, with much agility, she managed to flip their positions around.

"Uuff!"

Leaning back, she smirked mockingly taking in her handiwork—lips curved and eyes glinting with much mischief. Just like that, she had finally gotten him where she wanted. Bending forward, she pushed her stacked chest against him trying to gain his attention but for the most part, her opponent seemed to be a little bit too _preoccupied_.

Noctis felt the air knocked out of him this time and winced when he made contact with the ground again; eyes already having scrunched shut, almost anticipating the pain. His head throbbed in the same spot he had banged earlier and his bruised ribs were being agitated again.

Letting out a low groan, he made an attempt to get up and push the weight off of his body. But during his disorientated state his opponent had pinned him securely in place.

Frowning with his eyes slightly squinted, he failed to look intimidating with clumps of hair and dried blood stuck to his pale forehead. He glared at the lady who had made herself comfortable above him. Yet again he tried shimmying his way out but was met with the same frustrating result.

"That's cute. Never had a girl on top, hmm?" She questioned, her teasing tone grating on his nerves. Once again she rubbed her well-endowed assets against his chest. A sharp hiss of pain escaped from his parted lips. His hands, locked securely under her knees, clenched into fists, struggling to break free from the restraints.

Sitting back up straighter, she flipped her long neon pink choppy locks over her shoulder. Her clothes seemed to have gained a few tears here and there from the altercation but apart from that it looked fine—still keeping up with the scandalous look all the same. Her cutoff shorts had ridden up and the tank top barely covered her exposed underboobs now.

Lowering her eyelids, her jeering smile was gone and what remained was a ghost of a smirk as she slowly and carefully looked him over. Slipping both her hands under his ripped gunmetal grey shirt she slid her hands up his toned chest, riding up the shirt and exposing inch after inch of sodden pale flesh.

Noctis hissed as cold hands touched his sweaty and heated skin and had him almost wheezing in pain as the cold appendages grazed at a particularly sore spot. She watched as the different emotions flickered through his eyes before focusing back on his heaving chest. Her hand was resting on an ugly purplish-red bruise—a possible hairline fracture. She slid her hands away from it and instead looked him over, eyeing him like a piece of meat.

"Ya know, it was true when I said you looked pretty''. Her voice was light almost bordering a whisper. "Especially now that I've got you where I wanted". As if to prove her point, she harshly grounded her hips onto his, eliciting a low growl from him.

"Mmhh, don't like that?'' She asked, not too bothered about his answer, as she continued to slowly rock her hips over his crotch. "Or do you want it rougher?" This time she rubbed it harder increasing her tempo.

''What're yo—Stop!'' Noct shouted, ignoring how awful he just sounded.

Only slowing down and not stopping, she looked at him, eyes clouded with lust. "Now why would I do that?" She asked before continuing, "I think I deserve a reward don't you think?"

Again not waiting for an answer, she leaned in closer, closing the gap between them. There was only less than an inch between their lips, almost close enough to taste his breath when she abruptly stopped. It was distinct, but all too familiar all the same—the cocking of a gun. It was very faint but the wind carried the sound. It was enough for her to know that the culprit was somewhere nearby.

Quickly jumping away to the side, she barely managed to escape a bullet aimed for her head. Jumping back on her feet, she looked above to see a lady dressed in a black bodysuit standing on the open balcony of an abandoned high-rise. She was on the top floor, with a clear view of her target. Her blonde hair moved gently in the wind as she stared down at them, preparing for her next shot. The pinkette knew she was not going to miss her target a second time and had complete confidence in her skills, after all, they've been acquaintance before. She rose her hand and gave her a two fingered salute.

She turned to him and gave him a wink and a playful smile. "Too bad we had to cut our playtime short but next time, I promise you, I will give you a great time''. She blew him a kiss and turned to the sound of an incoming chopper.

Noctis watched shocked at what had just taken place, his lips slightly parted. He had shifted up, his elbows supporting the weight of his torso. He could see the light glinting off of the scope of the gun and a blonde woman behind it. He ripped his gaze away from her and glanced at the black chopper, the aircraft was almost close enough to kick up all the dust around him.

The door of the chopper slid open revealing a machine gun preparing to aim at the blonde lady. And in the next moment, a volley of shots was fired. Just as the machine gun went rattling off, a soldier lowered a rope ladder.

The pinkette didn't waste a moment as she went to grab onto the rope ladder but not before turning to look at him one last time.

"Bye pretty boy!'' Her voice was almost drowned out by the chopper. Just like before, with her agility she quickly clambered up the ladder in her red stilettos just as it took off.

Looking over at the collapsing building in front of him, Noctis could see a figure plummeting towards the ground. Taking a shaky breath, he closed his eyes for a second. Without thinking twice and throwing caution to the wind, he warped towards the falling blonde woman near instantaneously. He appeared in a shower of crystals, managing to both startle and enthral her.

"Wha—" She gasped out. Noctis ignored her, favouring to look for a safer descend as he circled an arm around her hips and the other under her legs, before warping down to safety. Upon reaching the ground he could barely keep his knees from buckling as his vision started blurring out, with random dark spots appearing here and there. But just before he fell unconscious, he could see the worried and concerned look on the face of the woman he had just saved, before everything went black.

* * *

Happy birthday Noctis!

A/N: Yes and yes. I will be damned if this weren't a harem fic ;) If there's any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I'm usually prompt with my replies. If not please leave a review or a like so that I know if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: WARNING! Disturbing contents ahead. You have been warned.**

* * *

Noctis woke up a mess. It felt like someone had used a power drill to drill through his cranium. And surprisingly enough that was the least of his problems. Waking up with the taste of iron and char wasn't exactly the best way to rouse from a restless slumber. And as far as he knew, his somnambulism was not so bad that it required him to be bound in chains. Noctis pulled on the cold metal chains binding his cuffed hands to the table, testing the slack. It didn't give. They were held taut, which resulted in him having to slouch slightly over the cold metal table.

He didn't put much of a struggle, stopping when the hard metal started biting into his bruised wrist. It wasn't like he could break himself free in this condition. If he was worse for wear before, when he'd arrived in this world, then now he was beyond tragic. He looked like he'd been run over by a truck; felt like it too.

From the bruises, ranging from small scratches to deep gashes, littering his arm to the surely broken rib or two, and either dislocation or sprain on his shoulder. And his get up...it would definitely put a homeless peasant to shame. Should he be glad he still had some meagre scraps left of his outfit on his back. Because astrals forbid if someone caught the future king in rags.

Noctis felt completely uncomfortable under his own skin. Pain shot throughout his system and he felt cold and hot at the same time; goosebumps breaking out throughout his skin as beads of sweat rolled down the sides of his temple. Mixed with the blood gathered on the side of his face, the rivulets dripped onto the table staining the surface; the sound of which only served to break the silence apart from the constant buzzing of the fluorescent lighting which flickered occasionally adding to his annoyance.

He was certainly feeling feverish as he was showing an onset of symptoms. He was really craving for Iggy's warm delicious chicken soup right about now. He had to push the pangs of hunger to the back of his head for the time being.

Noctis dropped his head on to the table, tired of supporting its weight. The cold surface only felt mildly pleasant on his heated forehead. His lethargy showed in the way his blinking slowed.

"Fuck...," he whispered to himself.

The moment since coming to this godforsaken place he's been regretting every decision he had made. Was is it a complete mistake coming here? Was he starting to regret the decision to help someone? He dearly hoped not. Despite his foolhardy decision he had only acted out on his kind nature with hope of being of some use. But the pain soaring throughout his being accompanied by the fact that he quite literally had no inkling about his whereabouts, the gravity of the situation and consequence of his actions were beginning to weigh down on him.

Despite being too busy griping over his plight and muddling over his never-ending insecurities of self-worth he'd heard the distinct sound of the door mechanism working as it slid open. Noctis listened to the sound of boots shuffling and scraping into the room accompanied by the loud clicking of heels. With considerable strain, Noctis raised from his slouched position just as the chair in front of him was pulled out. He watched as a leather-clad figure slowly settle into the chair.

Her cerulean blue stared down at him, watching and taking into account his injuries. Her blonde hair was kept in a neat ponytail with locks falling to the sides, framing her heart-shaped face. The fluorescent light only added to her alluring appearance as it bounced off the silky locks giving it a very soft and wispy appearance.

The tightly fitted leather jumpsuit hugged her curves further accentuating her assets. Noctis should have felt self-conscious at having to appear so dishevelled before her but that was least of his concern. He felt more than a little uncomfortable with the unhealthy amount of cleavage she was showing.

Why were all these women he had been coming across dressed so scandalously? The zip of her leather outfit only reached just below her chest giving a clear view of her cleavage.

Could it be that she was having trouble getting the zip past her bosom?

It looked like it the material was being stretched across her chest tautly. It was only a genuine thought Noctis had before he shock his head and snapped his eyes back up to meet icy blue. Croaking slightly, he cleared his throat before speaking again.

"H-hey, uh...look there's clearly been a mistake," he started. "I didn't do anything wrong, those things just attacked me".

At this the flaxen-haired lady relaxed back her posture before crossing her arms under her breast, pushing them up in the process. She didn't speak a word and chose to stare him down. Her eyes scanned the numerous cuts littering his face measuring the severity of his injuries. Nina knew the more grievous ones laid under his shirt and from his body language she knew the man was visibly straining. His cobalt blue eyes reflected equal amounts of worry and mistrust.

Pressing her lips taut, she begrudgingly admitted to herself that the young man before her was undoubtedly very handsome. 'Not like that's a big deal,' she thought. 'I've seen plenty of good looking men'. Despite looking very battered, with wavy ebony locks plastering onto a sweaty forehead almost hiding the striking blues underneath, his boyish charm was not lost on her.

He looked much younger than her but who cared. What got her attention was his powers–they certainly weren't humanly. She kept recalling back to the events that took place a few hours ago. No human could possibly move like that. What was that? Teleportation?

Nina was stunned beyond words when the young man quite literally materialised right before her in a shower of glittering crystals. It was surreal. She hadn't seen anything like that ever. She almost gasped when the man reached out for, curling his arms around her form.

Next thing she knew, in the blink of an eye she was in his arms on the ground with plumes of smoke and dust enveloping them as the skyscraper collapsed to the ground behind them. Once being certain that they were on safer grounds, the mysterious man gently released his arms around her. She watched with increasing concern as his arms dropped lifelessly and his eyes closed shut and he slummed forward.

Instinctively she held out her arms, catching him mid-fall before kneeling down to support both their weights. His body felt like dead weight in her arms; the raven man was much heavier than he looked. Bringing him closer, she rested his head on her chest as she checked his pulse; it was very faint but he was still alive.

Releasing a sigh she didn't know she was keeping, she inspected her raven saviour. Never in her entire life had she needed anyone's help, much less from a man. But this stranger before her had just saved her from a fatal situation, of which she had yet to fully process the gravity of. She was about to die. She was literally on the clasps of death just a few moments ago.

Somehow it felt even harder to believe the more she thought about it. From the many ways she could have gone, after all, she'd faced far worse foes, plummeting from a collapsing building to her death was never one she'd ever imagined. All she knew was that it happened so fast and she certainly had no chance of surviving had it not been for this unconscious man in front of her.

Who he was? And where did he come from?

Where the questions that were at the front of her mind. But given the current state of the stranger, she knew she'd probably had to wait a little while before her questions could be answered. Supporting him with one arm she reached for her communication device, they needed to get out of there fast.

She watched him speak noting that he spoke fortunately in english, albeit with an accent she couldn't quite pinpoint. It wasn't like she found it hard to believe him. And it certainly looked like he took a beating and if she were being completely honest to herself she was definitely being unfair to him; after all, if he wanted her dead he'd certainly not have taken the trouble to save her. Now for some answers. Starting with the most pressing question in the list.

"Who hired you?"

There was a pause, as silence ensued in the space of the cold cabin as Noctis tried to process the question. The occupants of the table stared at each other, one more so than the other; watching and waiting for any sort of suspicious body language.

"Hired me?" Noctis mirrored her question, articulating each word slowly and carefully as though he was speaking the word for the first time.

What was this strange woman going on about? It almost sounded like she wanted to pin him to something he had no knowledge about.

"Nobody," he continued almost sounding offended. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in something he had no clue about.

"Listen here woman, I'm not from here to begin with. I didn't do anything remotely wrong so far. And nobody hired me," Noctis said harshly.

The woman before him did not seem outwardly affected by his words but there was a slight frown beginning to appear. Maybe she thought that giving him a silent treatment will force him to confess something and if that were the case then he would have to be careful. He did not want his words used against him.

"Then who are you exactly?" Her voice held no emotions.

Even inhaling slightly hurt his rib yet he did not wince as he took a deep breath before answering.

"Noctis. Noctis Lucius Caelum".

* * *

Keys clattered incessantly as the whirring of a printer ran in the background. Things were getting more complicated than necessary. Brown eyes scanned the screen in front. And each time it darted across a figure, dark pupils dilated in response.

"Impossible," Lee muttered as he interlaced his hands in front of his mouth. The day had started in the most unusual of ways. Instead of his hot assistant there to greet him in the morning, he had awoken, silver locks tousled in the worst case of bed head a result of restless sleep the previous night, to greet a constipatedly anxious looking Lars.

He wasn't the first person he wanted to see after waking; not exactly the right gender either. He preferred the much more soothing and sensual voice of a woman's to wake him up instead of a gruff and scratchy voice. It was indeed even more unusual, when he announced the reason for his visitation–a request. Not a simple one at that; he was to find a man. A strange man who went by the name, Noctis Lucis Caelum.

With no photos of said individual but a vague description to go by, Lee sat on the bed naked and cross legged, without the least bit of modesty, frowning at Lars. Now how was he to achieve this. And most importantly what was in it for him? Why bother him?

Apparently, this stranger, who so happens to be a dear friend of Lars, yet no one seemed to have heard about till now, had somehow in gods name had 'teleported', did he even get that right, to this world of theirs' and Lars has lost contact ever since; no sign of his whereabouts whatsoever. There were too many questions flooding his mind.

"Are you joking?" He'd asked scratching his bare chest. "Couldn't even if I tried," was the scratchy response.

The idea of teleportation and the suggestion of the existence of many worlds was a work of fiction. A fantasy. But why on earth would Anderson lie to him. Taking his words completely on face value, Lee begrudgingly agreed to help. If it weren't for the poorly concealed anxious look Lars had given him. He'd never seen that look on him before and truthfully it kind of weirded him out.

"What's he even doing here?" He'd inquired. Sighing in resignation, Lars stepped into the bedroom and approached the foot of his bed before his heavy weight settled next to him. Lee instinctively pulled the sheets closer to cover his crotch but Lars did not pay any heed as he focused on his clasped hands in front of him. "I...," Lars hesitated before clearing his throat and continuing, "I...uh..called him...for a favor".

"What for?"

Lars turned to him giving him a long stare before turning back and staring at the wall in front of him. "There is something you should know," Lars had begun.

Average height, black hair with blue eyes and posed powers; that was all the description he was given. He didn't bother checking the database for men with such traits. It was obvious the man did not belong here and that meant he had to start from scratch. And thus had began he's tedious search. Combing his fingers through his hair, he sighed in frustration.

The silver haired man had spent almost half of his day with lack of any result. He's staffs shared the same plight. None of them could even find a trace. Lee was just on the verge of calling Lars' bluff before there was a knock on the door. Turning his head toward the door he droned out a lazy 'enter'.

The door opened and in came a gorgeous woman dressed to her nines. Pinstriped shirt paired with a tight black knee length skirt, hugging her figure well, she wore brown rimmed frames that caught the light preventing anyone to to see her eyes behind them giving her mysterious look.

In her hands she held a white tea cup, it's contents seemingly piping from the steady trail of steam coming from it. Back held taut, her heels clicked the white tiles as she elegantly sauntered her way towards his large red mahogany table.

The ivory china clinked as it was placed in front of him. The aroma of French pressed coffee filled his office. Releasing a low groan he gave her a lazy smirk before fully turning to face her.

"Well, aren't you a sight for the sore eyes," Lee flirted as he eyes scanned her from head to toe; giving a low whistle as it zoned in on her generous assets. He didn't care one bit that he was acting like a scum. He believed if someone had body like that it should be openly appreciated. He never minded people appraising his body; he knew he had it all. So what was the big deal, he was only returning the favor.

"I missed you".

Besides women loved his forwardness, most of time. Rolling her eyes behind her glasses, his sectary dryly responded. " Sir, you just saw me five minutes ago". His smirk stretched into a full on smile at this.

"Ohh, darling, five minutes away from you feels like a lifetime," Lee spoke before continuing, "besides I've been working so hard endlessly for hours so don't I get a reward ?"

His sectray's lack of response led him to drop his smile. He was used to this though, his lovely assistant always loved to play hard to get with him. Brushing aside her rejection, Lee faced his monitor before giving out an exaggerated sigh. Reclining his back into his plush leather chair he looked up to his ceiling.

"This is useless! A complete waste of time!" He exclaimed. " I've searched everywhere but I haven't gotten a clue as to where this bloody fellow could be".

"With all due respect sir, do we even have any proof that this man actually exists?" His sectary voiced her doubt. "Hell if I knew babe".

Treading his fingers through his locks once more he looked at her wearing a childish pout. "At this rate it wouldn't be long before I start getting white hair!"

"Like that would make amy difference," his assistat mumbled under her breath.

"What?" He hadn't quite catch that, too busy groaning away.

"Nothing sir".

While her employer grumbled away in the back ground, the eagle eyed, assistant scanned the screens covering the other half of the office before zoning in onto an interesting section of the screen. For some reason there was a blinking red notification next to it. Clicking on it a small window popped up–the daily atmospheric energy readings.

Had it been any other day the atmospheric energy held no significance. It was just like reading the weather forecast. No one really cared about it, it was just there. But on that particular day, it showed an extream spike in the energy levels.

Clicking on more buttons led to more windows to pop up. Perfectly plucked brown brow scrunched up, as she looked at the screen before her showing an array of figures.

"Sir...," her soft voice filled with hesitation alerted the bemoaning silver haired employer. "...take a lo-look...at this.." She continued.

"...What...in the world?!"

* * *

Morning came slowly for Noctis. He'd only realized it was morning when the the dim light of dawn slipped through the small excuse of a window. The so called interrogation ended up in a weird note to say the least. The blonde woman with the intense stare looked at him for a long time before muttering something, that he couldn't quite catch, to herself under her breath.

As if on cue the only entrance to his holding cell opened, revealing the flaken haired woman. His blue eyes watched her, hawk-like, with equal amounts of contempt and curiosity as her heeled legs crossed the distance between them gracefully. Positioning herself in front of his cell her hand curled around one the bars as she assessed him. He'd assumed she would return his hostile glare but her's not only lacked in frigidness but was instead filled with something almost bordering concern.

"How do you feel?" The words were spoken so softly as though she didn't want to risk anyone finding out their supposed rendezvous. Scoffing and ignoring her question altogether he posed a question of his own, "why are you whispering?"

With a sharp click of her tongue she gave him a glare. "Just answer the damn question will you?" Nina said. "What do you think?" Noctis returned, not bothering with the fact that he may have came across slightly rude. But what do you expect. He was cold, tired, sore all over and very much famished. Not to mention the fact that he'd just saved this blonde's ass. And what does he get in return? Half a day of interrogation and a cold cell.

Releasing a deep sigh her brows unfurrowed, taking on a softer visage. "Look don't get difficult with me," she said sounding just as tired as he looked. "C'mhere," she demanded sliding a long arm through the gaps of the metal bar and tightly gripping his chin and turning his head this way and that way before he could do anything. Her baby blue eyes traced the path of the dried blood on the side of his head; there was a cut little above his right eyebrow and it seemed to have almost healed. 'Fast healing?' she mused.

Noctis softly gripped her thin wrist before gently removing her grip on his chin. Pulling her arm back she looked at the keypad next to his cell before tapping on the display. "Let me take care of your injuries," it did not sound like a request and just as she finished the cell door slid open. Nudging him gently back she stepped inside and let the door slide close behind her.

But her next action was far from delicate as she gripped his shoulders and pushed him down forcing him to sit on the metal bench where she proceeded to place a first aid kit and folded clothes beside him.

Noctis tensed not comfortable with how close she was being. At this distance he could easily smell the floral fragrance of her perfume–lavender. It wasn't too strong and surprisingly quite pleasant and somehow he found himself relax a bit.

Placing herself between his legs she shortened the distance between them much to his dismay. His eyes were at level with her navel so he could clearly see how her leather outfit outlined her crotch, the latex tightly curving around her thick pubic mounds and dipping at the slit.

His blue eyes darted away immediately. 'Geez, what's wrong with these women,' he wondered. It was like they did not mind looking provocative. Since coming here the two women he'd came across really gave him an impression; both of them were bold and clearly did not respect personal space.

Opening the medical kit she took out a few cotton swabs and a small bottle containing alcohol. Soaking the swabs she bend down slowly and approached his face with eyes zeroing on his. Naturally, he looked anywhere but her his shyness getting the better oh him. From that angle he could clearly see down her cleavage.

'Sixes, was there anywhere safe to look?!'

Lifting her left hand she caressed his cheek in a surprisingly gentle gesture making him look back at her. Meeting his stare she let her eyes slide to the side of his face, completely focused on the cuts littering his face now. She grazed cotton swab against a wound causing him to flinch and jerked his head back, wincing as his cut started to itch and burn.

Tutting mutely she slid her left hand on his cheek to the back of his head burying it in his thick unruly hair. Softly gripping the ebony locks between her fingers, she held him in place. Bringing the hand holding the wool sodden with alcohol once again, she began dabbing his cuts. Though she didn't apologise she made sure to be gentler on him.

When the cotton swab dabbed on a particularly deep cut he hissed but she did not care in the slightest continuing on with her task at hand. "Don't be such a baby", she muttered under her breath in a somewhat soothing voice though that did nothing to ease the pain.

He tried to understand the logic of the woman before him, trying to figure the situation he was in. He couldn't quite tell whether the woman was hostile or not. The situation was getting more and more troublesome and what was worse was he had no idea how to go about contacting Lars. Did he even land on the right place?

Nina quietly watched the man before her, he looked distracted. His immersive blue eyes were gazing somewhere far away. He was definitely the most strangest man she'd ever met and that was saying something considering her line of work. It was truly bizarre. She wanted to know more about him.

Where he was from, who he really was, what he was really like...

She could understand the first two line of thoughts after all they really did need to if he was a threat, although deep-down she knew she had nothing to fear. But she certainly had no clue as to why he'd piqued her interest to point she had to know more about him. Straightening back up she made sure she'd finished patching up his face before moving to her next target.

"What are you-" Noctis panicked as her hands gripped the neckline of his shirt. Tearing his shirt without hesitation she threw the black sweat soaked shirt behind her ignoring it, eyes now slowly slinking their way down his sculpted torso instead.

His body stiffened and he felt self conscious as beads of sweat rolled down. He felt completely undressed, even though he had his pants on, with the way her eyes skimmed him over from head to toe. He never did like it when Aranea did it and this just reminded him of that.

Nina either did not hear it or chose to completely ignore his concern as she silently apraised him. Lips taut her eyes zeroed in on his bare soden flesh mapping out various scars littered throughout his sinewy torso. His body glistened in the dim ambient light, highlighting each curve and dip of his abs. She definitely liked what she saw as she moistened her dry lips.

The brunette before her was actually quite buff. She was surprised to find that he was hiding so much behind that somewhat baggy looking clothes. She'd severely underestimated him; probably as did his foes.

His creamy white skin looked soft and her hand twitched to coup a feel. And she did just that. Pretending to look for the full scale of damage done to his body, she ran her hands descretly along his chest. Soft palms felt him up, caressing and groping his biceps and arms.

Her hands felt cold on his heated skin and he took a sharp breath as they descended lower. "Itss...," Noctis hissed in pain as she applied light pressure on his lower rib where the skin above took a prplish-blue hue.

"It seems you have a bruised rib or two," she deduced. "Can't do much about it now but we will get you to a medic soon enough".

She looked up at him before going for a roll of bandage and alcohol swabs. Repeating the procedure she had done earlier she meticulously dressed the cuts and gashes strewn across his limbs and torso.

Noctis waited patiently as she did her work feeling somewhat relieved that some of his injuries were taken care of, the more grievous ones had to wait. Though he wasn't all that concerned seeing how his body ached less, thanks to his naturally enhanced body aiding in fast recovery.

They were only few inches apart as she kneeled between his legs and wrapped the long bandage around his chest. She was so close he could feel her breath against his skin. Nina shook her head trying to focus. She was having a hard time focusing on her task as her mind kept going to the gutter. She couldn't help herself her as eyes kept drifting to his crotch. Sighing in muted frustration, she tucked in the end of the bandage having done with her job.

From her position below him she gave him a look which gave Noctis an unsettling feeling. 'It almost looked like she was upset with something,' Noctis wondered. Putting aside the medical kit and all the used cottons swabs, Nina slowly got up gripping his shoulders with her hands. She made sure to brush her chest against his before leaning in to the side of his face.

Noctis took a sharp intake of breath when her lips brushed against his ear but was prevented from pulling back when her left hand took its place on his cheek once again. "Just so you know..." she slowly drawled hotly into his ear, "I believe you". And with that the sultry blonde pushed herself of the bewildered young man, her heels clicking away as she excited and locked the cell.

* * *

In the middle of Tokyo Bay an unnatural phenomenon took place, an eerie blue glow lit up illuminating from the cold depths of the sea bed with foreboding effervescence rising up to the surface.

The terrestrial atmosphere above the city was intensely saturated by the abnormal amount of spiritual energy, increasing the dew point severely as saturated particulates took appearance in the form of glimmering specks. A storm brewed and the wind picked up speed. Before long, the heavens broke down as water drops imbued with the glimmering specks rain down onto the city below.

The raindrops that fell over the bay diffused into the water surface and the glowing particles floated down swiftly as they gathered at the bottom, illuminating the seabed. Small black particles that laid in the loose sands of the seabed began feeding of from the charged particulates. Progressively the black slime slowly took form, gathering mass bit by bit as the initially small and shapeless particles snowball into bigger mass.

The slime, without any distinct shape or form, slowly crawled its way across the usually undisturbed seabed. The ominous onyx mass glittered and glowed, encompassing of millions of tiny microscopic glowing blue particulates.

The mass lurched forward surging with more and more energy, disturbing the surrounding fauna as schools of fish and marine animals scattered and swam away sensing danger. Slow at first it gradually built up speed, slipping through and around rocky obstructions as it continued on its predetermined course towards its object of interest.

A few meters ahead laid a lifeless pale body of a woman, cushioned among weeds and aquatic plants. With long locks of black hair floating gently around her she looked much to be asleep; an ethereal slumber in the dark depths of the cold ocean floor. Nearing her feet it abruptly halted for a few seconds inspecting it's surroundings and slowly the black slime rose above her feet taking in the sight of body in front of it. And just as suddenly it lurched forward, shiny ebony tendrils attached itself on her camtose body, snaking its way up her legs. Inch by inch the dense dark mass covered her body.

The slimy tentacles slid along her inner thighs before abruptly stopping again, this time near her womanhood. The ominous mass yet again rose but this time not as high as before but instead the individual tendrils wound together to form a single thick tentacle with the tip resembling eerily like a snake head. And all too suddenly with a strong jerk the snake head thrusted so fast and accurately forward splitting into two heads and penetrating both her orifices, vagina and anus.

Not stopping the black slime continued forcefully entering her inch after inch. It jerked its way inside, making the skin above her vagina to distended and bulge as the outline of the tentacle became visible. With no mercy it breached her womb, slithering and feeling around the precious cavern before slowly depositing numerous pearlescent egg like structures. It continued its invasion of her body as the foreign parasite ravaged and plagued, laying claim to its new host once again.

It started with a single twitch of a finger before her whole body convulsed and shook violently. The invading parasite worked tediously as it slowly but surely worked to resurrect its host. With a final violent convulsion the body stopped moving altogether. And for few moments it seemed that nothing would happen before glowing amber eyes cracked open once again.

* * *

Kazuya swirled the heavy bottom glass containg vintage whiskey as he watched the recorded fight play out on the huge screen. The ice clinked in the brown liquid. The team he'd tasked as backup and intel provided valuable data related to the anamolous target and that included footage of the fight. Though the pink haired vixen in charge of the team provided the least helpful information. She was a capable fighter but she had few too many screws loose. He clicked his tongue as he remembered her uncouthed words when she delivered her report and footage.

"Awwu, he was such a candy!" Poison exclaimed with yearning heavily laced on each word. "I could have devoured em' then and there". She twirled around his office hands clasped as she gave out a dreamy sigh. Kazuya disregarded her preferring to look at her report instead.

"And, oooohhh...fuck me both ways Kami-sama...he was soooo huge down there tooo!' Poison moaned wantonly rubbing her thighs together before pausing and turning in his direction and sneering. 'Unlike you that is, all massive on top to make up for what you don't have below,' she scoffed, 'it's always the same for you lot of em'.

She was lucky he was distracted by her report to take offence. '...oohhh, and I was so wet and ready for him...if it weren't for that stupid blonde BITCH!' Sighing deeply he dismissed her. 'This will do, now leave my office,' he demanded coldly, having gotten tired of her incessant blabbering. The pinkette rolled her eyes and strode out not before muttering something about 'getting off and alone'.

Pausing and rewinding the video he took the time to study each frame. Facial recognition failed to identify the man in the video. There simply was no record of such a man. He continued watching the unknown man clash with all the Jacks. He frowned as the man performed a strange move almost akin to instantaneous teleportation. What amazed him the most was the fact that the man could summon and wield a myraid of weapons.

'What was this strange power and how was it possible for someone to wield that many weapons with such expertise,' Kazuya pondered hard. 'And at such a young age'.

His grip on the glass tightened as he watched on further. His moves were outlandish. At times it looked like he was using some very interesting set of combat moves which included martial arts and sword play while other times he looked like random moves combined with teleportation that left a trace of blue sparks. And if that wasn't worse enough the stranger possessed some sort of elemental magic.

Kazuya's face darkened as he watched the man destroy one Jack after another. It was clear the stranger was turning out to be a problem. He not only possessed formidable skills but also immense strength and endurance as he took on heavy punches head-on. "Just...who the hell is this man," Kazuya growled. He hated unnecessary hindrances. He had all but one plan and that was to destroy his insolent son, Jin. But it seemed more and more hassles very getting in his way. "...fuck...JUST FUCKING GREAT!" He roared breaking the heavy mahagoney table into half with a single punch.

The room was eerily quiet with exception of the sound of heavy panting. He slouched in his chair hands resting on his knees. He gripped his face trying to calm himself down as his bicoloured eyes watched the man. But it was all for naught as his eyes widened in disbelief in the next second and the glass in his hand shattered. Scrambling to grab the remote he rewinded the video and pausing at the exact frame he had caught a glimpse of it. Zooming at the still frame he let out a shaky breath.

"...Im-Impossible..." Kazuya breathed out appalled as he stared back at the glowing pair of crimson eyes of the stranger on the screen, his own sole red dimming in brightness.

* * *

Nina looked at the metal device in her hand, flipping it around unconsciously. In her hands held the key; or at least she had hoped so. She tried once more, pushing the power button, but there was no indication of it ever turning on. The battery was dead. Flipping to the bottom of it she sighed in defeat. And it looked like she wouldn't be getting her answers any time soon.

"...Now where do I get a charger for this?" She whispered.

Fully occupied with her pondering she had failed to notice one of her men at the door until a harder knock on it brought her to her senses. Quickly, she unzipped her leather suit before slipping the device between her cleavage and zipping it back up. Composing herself she turned slightly giving him a side glance. Her cold stare seemed to do the trick as the man stood straighter before clearing.

"Boss, everything has been taken care of, just like you asked" his gruff voice reported before adding, "we're set to go".

"Good, round up the men," Nina commanded. "We go at once".

With a sharp nod the man left her alone. Staring ahead she crossed her arms across her chest. It was time she went and fetched her prisoner.

Noctis cracked open his eyes the moment he heard the door to the holding cell clicked open and in came many men suited up and heavily armed filtered into the room. He scoffed at this. Where they really that scared of him?

Truth be told he couldn't even move his limbs without wincing. Why they were so cautious was beyond him. He frowned as he watched them key in the code to unlock his cell. As the cell door slid open, three men entered. One of them stood in front of him aiming his gun at his forehead while other two went about binding him.

"Don't try anything funny got that smart ass?" came the gruff albeit muffled order from masked man in front of him.

Noctis rolled his eyes in response. With his wrist bound in handcuffs they placed a black hood over his eyes effectively obstructing his vision. He should be anxious maybe even terrified but for some strange reason he felt no such dread. Not even a tiny trickle of fear; as though he was numb to everything happening to him.

Where were they taking him now?

The men behind him roughly shoved him forward edging him to start moving. They led him through a long dim hall way before they reached outside. He could feel the warmth of the sun burning through his hood leading him to believe it was mid day due to the intensity of it.

One of them grab his right shoulder forcing him stop. Annoyed, Noctis shrugged the hand off his shoulders. His ears picked up the sound of heels clicking along rough asphalt coming closer before his black hood was yanked off in one swoop. Instinctively he took a few gulps of fresh air as his eyes tried adjusting to the light.

"Off with that, we have no use for it," Nina spoke, annoyance clear in her tone, as she threw the hood behind her.

When her cool blue eyes greeted him they hinted at nothing, giving no clue as to what was happening or where they were going to go. As she stepped closer, Noctis stared down at her not bothering to hide the displeasure on his face. He noted how her men acted in her presence, hastily moving aside for her as though they feared getting in her way and suffer her wrath.

'Was she that terrifying?' he mused as he found it comical how these men, built twice her size, were basically scurrying away from her. He was not one for underestimating the enemy but even he felt slightly puzzled.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" the king demanded.

His cobalt blue eyes bore down at her. He'd never been this unkind or brutish towards women but the lady before him was grating on his nerves. First they threw him into a cell for Etro knows how long and now they were shepherding him like a prisoner who'd done some grievous crime. And with the way how things looked the only mistake he'd done so far was saving her.

When it almost looked like she wasn't going to meet his demand for an answer, she spoke gingerly. Her tone was monotonous yet it lacked the hard edge she used on her subordinates.

"All your questions will be answered soon enough".

The king clicked his tongue in annoyance; that wasn't much of an answer and it seemed to him they were evading his question. Turning her head away from her he decided to ignore the blonde beauty in front of him.

Somehow his blatant show of disregard irked her so much. No one dared to ignore her and his disdain towards her rubbed her the wrong way. Taking another heeled step towards him, she reached forward taking hold of the chains connecting his handcuffs before tugging on it.

When he refused to budge Nina's scowl deepened, grabbing the chain tighter she tugged on it more harshly causing her prisoner to jerk forward.

"You're coming with me," she ordered. Swirling around, golden locks almost causing whiplash, Nina lead him to the awaiting aircraft. He was genuinely surprised to say the least, not expecting that much force behind that pull.

Noctis trudged slowly behind her with her men following closely behind them with their firearms aimed at him. His hair and clothes whipped around as they approached the aircraft with its twin propellers spinning slowly. He watched as she easily got on, her leather clad suit giving him a generous view of her shapely bottom; backing up a bit to give her space lest he ended up face planting her ass.

Impatient with the hold up the men shoved him on board before closing the hatch, he awkwardly stumbled onto the seat in front of him. As soon as they finished buckling the seat belts for him he felt the aircraft take off. Sitting herself opposite him with her legs and arms crossed over the woman stared him down; scrutinising him from head to toe.

What was their deal? What did they want from him? Nothing made sense to Noctis. Their encounter was by chance. She happened to be there the same time he was. He was so sure the blonde before him was after the boxom rosette. It wasn't like he was being targeted...or was he?

"Can I ask you something?"

An elegant brow arched at this, Nina was surprised. She had not been expecting the man to speak up at all. She was certain he was going to be brooding the entire time.

"Go ahead," she acceded.

"What exactly did you mean when you said you believe me?"

At this Nina straightened her posture, eyeing him warily, not at all expecting him to bring up their meeting. No one had known about that. They believed the medic had addressed his wounds instead of their boss. Revelation of their meeting would surely rouse suspicions.

"But you did say it didn't?" Noctis pressed, "that you believe me".

She did not reply immediately, uncrossing and recrossing her arms as she sought for a reply.

When silence greeted them her protégé looked at them confused. Their eyes shifted from their boss to the bounded man. Murmurs arose among her charge and she clicked her tongue annoyed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted back defensively. "You're just confused...dehydration does that".

"What are yo-" Noctis began trying to get up from his seat agitated before the men took aim at him. Both of them were prematurely interrupted by the sound of a nearby explosion, the oncoming shock waves impacting the aircraft causing it to lurch violently. The sudden jolt led most occupants flailing around. Noctis lurched back in his seat, banging his head hard.

"Wha-what's going on?!" Nina scrambled out of her seat. Their aircraft was plummeting at high speed. Alarms of all sorts were going off as the entire carriage was bathed in flashing red. Holding the head rails for support she staggered to the front trying to reach the cockpit. Gripping the headrest of one of the pilot seat she hauled herself to the front.

Shock and fear painted her entire face she saw the fate of their entire aircraft. Both of her pilots were incapacitated. One of them had a large sharpnel of glass lodged straight through his chest. The glass belonged to the broken side window which now caused cold air to gush in. It was clear he was dead. The other was groaning barley managing to unbuckle his seat belt before slumping over the control board. The rest on board were scrambling to get a footing but they went tumbling down, their heavy arms impeding their movements.

Nina moved hurriedly as she lugged one of the pilots aside before taking control of the yoke. Gripping the handles she yanked it towards her trying gain altitude but it was in vain. Aimlessly she tried pressing the array of buttons on the control dash all while trying to contact ground control.

A second projectile hit the fuselage, ripping the hatch open and causing a change in air pressure and initiating a strong suction. Noctis held his seat belt tighter as he watched the men screaming and shouting as they were forcefully dragged out of the aircraft. Weapons, seats and stray equipments flew out as he watched some of them scrambling to hold onto something secure but ultimately failing and flying out the busted hatch.

His seat creaked threatening to give way under the strong force as he quickly tried to work his way out of his binds but it was futile. He could feel the familiar pangs of anxiety set in. Noctis could not reach the belt buckle with his hands tightly bound and chained to the seat. Shifting his focus cobalt eyes set on the struggling blonde in the cockpit, the only other conscious passenger on the ill-fated aircraft.

"HEY!" Noctis bellowed over the gushing wind and alarm.

Hearing a shout over the blast of air Nina paused on her struggle as she looked over her shoulder. In her haste to regain control she'd completely forgotten about her prisoner. Seeing that he'd gained her attention he held up his bound hands.

"GET ME OUT OF THIS! COME ON QUICK! " he shouted to her. "I CAN GET US OUT OF HERE!"

Only hesitating for a fraction of a second she did as she was told. For some reason she believed his words to be true and did not bother fighting him. Taking great effort to climb over the seats she struggled to reach him. Nina stumbled her way over to him, clammy hands holding the metal rails tightly in fear of being blown out of the aircraft. Once she reached him she almost fell over him but managed to grip his arm rest. Releasing the handcuff she moved onto his straps.

Nina gripped the belt securing Noctis and tried to unbuckle it but it was as though fate was against them as the buckle failed to budge.

"Fuck.." She cursed under her breath as she repeatedly tried to pull the strap before quickly sliding out a hidden blade from the side of her heeled boot. She went hacking away at the straps like a maniac as she desperately tried to free him. Just as she cut through the last strap keeping him in place she lost her footing and fell backwards, tumbling towards the exit. But before she fell off the craft rough hands caught hers.

Pulling her hard toward him, Noctis held her tightly against his chest securing an arm around her waist.

"Gotcha," he breathed out. Noctis sighed in relief, he had almost thought it was too late but had caught her in time.

Nina let out a shaky breath, her pupils blown out as adrenaline pumped throughout her system. Her pulse went overdrive and her heart beat almost defended her as she tried unsuccessfully to calm herself. She gripped the black material of his shirt tightly as she looked up at him.

"Don't worry I got you," Noctis repeated.

"...But I need you trust me," Noctis continued as his hold on her got tighter. "Hold onto me tightly and don't ever let go," He commanded as he held onto one of the head rails.

"WHAT ARE YO-," Nina started alarmed when she felt him take a step closer to the blown up hatch but was cut off.

"TRUST ME!" The king exclaimed ignoring how painfully tightly she had wound her hands around his neck.

Not even taking a moment to reconsider his options he leaped out of the downing plane. Instinctively she tightened her grip on him. Just when she thought she was safe from plumting to her death she was yet again being thrown off the plane and free falling to her death. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

When they got closer to the ground and he was able to make out the infrastructures he summoned his engine blade before throwing it far aiming at the nearest building. The sword struck the side of a commercial building, the blade deeply embedded into the concrete before in a flash of blue crystals the falling pair disappeared. Noctis warped to the building catching the handle.

"Fuck," Noctis caught himself cursing as he felt a burst of pain shoot up his shoulder as the pair hung on the side of the tall skyscraper swaying gently in the breeze. Their combined weight was putting pressure on his banged up shoulder.

On the other hand, Nina found the entire experience nothing short off surreal; she was enthralled. Just a second ago they were accelerating to certain death, the wind rushing against their faces and then all of sudden she felt nothingness, engulfed in darkness and gentle warmth, before a blue light flashed and they reappeard on the side of a building.

She looked over his shoulder taking in the birds eye view of the city below. She did not fear heights but she tightened her hold on him unconsciously. Having done gawking at the scenery below her cool blue eyes return another sight that was starting to get more and more alluring to her.

Unnerving was an understatement as Noctis looked away from her open stare, deciding to reach ground before he changed his mind and 'accidentally' drop her. In yet another flash they were on solid ground. Once he found her safe he quickly released his arm from around her shapely waist and pulled away from her tight grasp. He didn't think he could endure another second being cushioned by her soft curves.

"So...what was that?" Noctis asked as he slumped against the side of a building.

Truly, just how many times can a man fall from the sky. Sky diving was never in his list of hobbies.

Strangely enough, Nina felt empty and even disappointed at the loss of warmth as he released her from his strong arms. She wondered why she was feeling that way before brushing the entire thought aside. The blonde assassin watched him as he walked off to the side, brows creasing at his question.

"Don't know. Could be resistance led by rebels," she answered as cupped her chin pondering on the situation. "But from the looks of it, with those kinds of missiles, there's no doubt it could be G Corp".

"G Corp?"

"G Corporation. A bio-tech firm primarily specialised in the field of advanced bio-genetics research," Nina explained.

"You mean...like cloning and stuff?" Noctis implored.

The blonde turned to fully face him as she uncrossed her arms to study him.

"...Yes...among other things too...," she answered slowly before continuing. "Though in recent years they've shifted their focus to military developments thanks to the new head".

Sighing in exhaustion her shoulders slumped letting her lethargy shine through. She had known they were after her. Her unceremonious departure without a doubt ruffled some feathers. Intelligence was key in these kinds of businesses and she had plenty of intel. Letting her lose was a problem that needed to be snuffed. But what she had failed to do was realise how fast they were closing in on her.

She had lost her men. It was certain they did not survive. Her enemies probably thought of the same thing of her. They would have assumed her to be dead. And that was fine by her. At least it got them off her tail for the time being.

But if it weren't for the man in front of her that would have been the probable outcome. This was the second time he had saved her. He was starting to become the metaphorical 'knight in shining armors' from all those despicable stories her sister used to read when they were younger.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones behind this".

"...Ok...so why did they attack us?" Noctis asked trying to piece the information together.

"They are after me. I'm on their hit list," Nina confessed.

Noctis slowly blinked at her, his eyes catching hers. Was that a joke? In the little time he had spent in her hospitable company she had certainly failed to make him laugh.

"...Wonderful," he replied monotonously. Because why not right?

"What now?" Noctis sighed. He was so tired that the pavement looked so tempting for him to lay down and curl up.

"There's a place I know," Nina started walking towards him. "It shouldn't be too far".

"...And I'm to follow you?" He asked not hiding the bewilderment in his tone. Did she honestly think he was going to follow her? The audacity. Did she think she could force him to follow? He would like to see her try. He was her prisoner no more!

"Unless you know your way around here, have at it. Though if I recall correctly you said you don't belong from here".

That shut him up faster than he wanted to admit as clenched his fist in irritation. She was a sly bitch, that one.

"And how do you suppose we are going to get there?" An honest question.

"We walk," her too easy reply.

Just before he could refuse her suggestion a speeding sliver car veered to stop right next to them. The driver side window rolled down to reveal a very familiar face.

"Wanna a ride?"

* * *

In the quieter part of town resided an old shrine, its grandeur eaten slowly away by nature. With a wildly overgrown courtyard it looked nothing like its original magnificent self. Some of the torii that once stood tall and proud were now either damaged or knocked over, a result of lose soil caused by gradual erosion. The bright red of the painted wood was now browned with fungus and was left to rot.

Parts of the tiled roof of the temple had caved in with broken tiles scattering throught the lawn. Creepers had found abode on the walls and pillars of the shrine; negligence had allowed nature to thrive in its presence. Yet despite the outwardly appearance of the abandoned shrine, it was brimming with mysterious mixture of life and magic.

In the inner courtyard of the temple, surrounded by weeds and thorny overgrown rose bushes, stood a tall domineering figure. His heavy gait was the only disturbance in the usually quiet yard. He walked with purpose, only slowing to a halt in front of large circles painted on the floor. Each circles were intricately inscribed in black kanji of spells from forbidden origins. In the centre of it laid a cloth wrapped in black twine.

The big man gingerly knelt in front of it head bowed in reverence. The smell of burning incense lingered in the air from the years before. Taking in a calming breath he looked over at the ritual circle. Preparations were complete and now with the aid of the thick presence of the mysterious magic in the air it was the only time to perform the ritual.

With the silver glow of the full moon shining directly above the twined cloth, the man drew blood from his palm, slowly muttering prayers under his breath. As the blood pooled in his palm he slammed it on the floor, smearing the crimson liquid over the kanji. Within seconds each individual letters glowed eerily in red before it peeled of the ground and floated in midair. Just then thick white smoke engulfed the area.

The large man remained motionless as he watched waiting for the smoke to abate. As he waited patiently the corners of his mouth slowly curled upwards when a familiar fragrance pricked his nose and filled the surroundings. With the smoke slowly dissipating a naked figure fully stepped out of it. Under the moonlight the ivory flesh glistened and glowed, giving it an ethereal appearance. The big man took in the sight before him and a lecherous smile slowly made its way onto his face.

"It has been a while... _hime_ ".

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes it has indeed been a while. I don't honestly have a valid reason apart from being busy with college life. Apologies are in order but please do expect more infrequent updates. I am currently working on multiple projects and that includes being a beta reader for my good friend. As for this chapter I apologize if you found some of the contents disturbing.

Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review if you liked it. See you in the next one :D


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